I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

10 Fun Facts About Garlic!

I like produce. I like to grow it. I like to eat it. I like to create recipes with it. I’m also kind of a nerd and like to get to know my produce. I like learning new or fun tidbits of info about the produce I’m growing/eating/baking. If you’re a weirdo like me then buckle up for this new series as I dive into a plethora of produce facts and share them with you. Here we go:

1. Garlic gets its pungent flavor from a chemical reaction that occurs when the garlic cells are broken. The flavor is most intense just after mincing.

2. Garlic is a staple in most kitchens. It’s one of the most utilized recipe ingredients since it is found in almost all types of cuisine, like African, Asian, European, Traditional American and Latin American. There’s no such thing as too much garlic in a dish I say!

3. In ancient Greece, brides carried bouquets of herbs and garlic, not flowers. I guess it would say you a ton on flower costs!

4. China grows a over 2/3rds of the world’s garlic—somewhere around 46 billion pounds per year! Holy garlic breath!!

We’re planting ours this weekend! We plant about the same amount and give lots away, but we use a bunch too. I recommend freezing it minced in mini ice cube trays or as garlic butter if you ever need to extend the storage life.

I’m trying scallions this year, too–I had no idea they grow in much the same way as garlic where one “clove” forms a bunch.